Fish lure



NOV. 3, 1953 1 EPPlNGER 2,657,495

FISH LURE Filed Sept. l0,A 1949 Zo /0 y 'K Snuentor Ctttomegs PatentedNov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FISH LURE v Louis JohnEppinger, Detroit, Mich.

Application September 10, 1949, Serial No. 115,055

1 Claim. (C1. eis-42.33)

This invention relates tov iish lures and, in particular, to such lureshaving flashing or glittering objects associated therewith, such asspoons or spinners.

One object of this invention is to provide a fish lure having aglittering ornamented member such as a spoon or flasher associatedtherewith and of a novel type of construction which gives a variegatedflashing appearance as it is drawn through the water.

Another object is to provide a iish lure of the foregoing characterwherein the ornamentation of the glittering member consists ofintersecting shallow approximately conical surfaces which are very broadin proportion to their height, these surfaces giving a uniquelight-reecting eiiect in the water.

Another object is to provide a fish lure of the foregoing characterwherein the relatively iiat or shallow intersecting conical surfacesresemble the scales of a fish and therefore are of superiorfish-attracting characteristics.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fish lure according to one form of theinvention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the fish lure taken along theline 2--2 in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a cross-section taken along the line 3 3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-section taken along the line y 4-4 in Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a greatly magniiied partial cross section, taken along theline 3-3 near the lefthand edge of the flasher I I, with the proportionssomewhat exaggerated for clearness of showing.

Referring Yto the drawings in detail, Figure 1 shows a sh lure,generally designated I and consisting generally of an ornamentedsh-attracting member or asher I I constituting a central member or spooncoupled to a hook assembly I2 by a coupling device I 3. The hookassembly I2 and coupling device I3 are of conventional type, the hookassembly I2 having a shank I4 with triple hooks I projecting therefromand terminating in barbed points I6. The shank I4 at its opposite endterminates in an eye Il. The coupling device I3 passes through the eyeI1 and also through a hole I8 in the member I I, and consists of a wirering of two convolutions resembling the ordinary key ring. Theornamental sh-attracting member l I is also provided at its opposite orforward end with a second hole I9 to which a conventional swivel (notshown) is preferably attached in order to prevent the line from twistingwhile the fish lure is drawn through the water.

The ornamented fish-attracting member or 20 and a generally concaveinner surface 2 I,fboth surfaces being of arcuate cross-section as shownin Figures 3 and 4. The. member or spoon II is preferably of metal, andthe surfaces 20 and 2| thereof are ornamented in a very striking way bybeing provided with approximately conical intersecting portions orprotuberances 22 in the central portion thereof which are so shallow asto be almost flat and which terminate in points 23. The protuberancesare solid geometrical figures having substantially polygonal bases andirregular conical characteristics, there thus being interspersed betweenthe border representations 24 and the central portion solid geometricgures in some instances having shapes different from the otherrepresentations. The slide portions 24 at the edge of the spoon areoptional and form representations of geometrical figures of variousshapes, each figure having as one of its sides the edge of the spoon II, certain of these figures resembling flutes of arcuate cross-sectionextending inward from the edge of the bases of the flat conical portions22. The conical portions 22 of the member I I, Ihowever, predominate inthe decorative effect and provide the major portion of the glitteringappearance. Thus, the conical portions 22 in assembly resemble multipleiiat conical facets which reflect the light in a unique manner. Theconical portions 22 are not necessarily right circular cones, but, asshown, may be slanting cones with the elements or lines making up theirsides varying in their inclination relatively to the altitude or base ofthe cone. The appearance, moreover, is generally similar, whether or notthe conical portions 22 are formed on a at surface, on a convex surfaceor on a concave surface.

The sizes of the conical portions or protuberances 22 on the ornamentalmember I I can be varied widely from the tiny cones shown at the endadjacent the hole I 8 to the large cones shown in the vicinity of thesection line 3--3. The cones, however, are convex rather than concaveand are thus not a hammered effect wherein the reecting portions areconcave. The conical portions 22 thus give optical effects resemblingvery at convex conical mirrors. In the present application, the termflat or shallow is used to mean that the height of the cone is almostimperceptible in proportion to its breadth. The conical portions 22 areformed by a plating process, the details of which are outside the scopeof the present invention, but which is disclosed and claimed in theStareck Patent No. 2,313,456 of March 9, 1943 for Method of ProducingDecorated Coatngs Exhibiting Patterns or Designs, and Product. Thesurfaces 20 and 2| are optionally coated with a transparent plasticcoating 2B to protect the surfaces, and the light flashing upon theportions 22 and 24 not only glitters, when reflected, but also hastraces of rainbow colors or iridescence. Rather than carrying the hookdirectly, the object Il may be attached at one end to an elongated wirerod around which it spins, the line being attached to one end,preferably through a swivel, and the hook being attached to the otherend.

In use, the sh lure I0 is operated the same as other sh lures in that itis drawn through the Water in trolling or in casting. When theornamented member Il either rotates or Wobbles to 2 and fro, theglittering effect and hence the sh attracting effect is intensified, Inactual use, the fish lure of the present invention has proved to be asplendid fish catcher and has been used in copper, brass and silvercolors.

What I claim is:

A concavo-convex spoon for shing comprising a central member of sheetmaterial having on opposite sides thereof substantially smooth surfacesand deposited on the opposite surfaces thereof a coating of ornamentalnon-flaking material so dispersed over the surfaces that at the borderthereof the coating effects representations of geometrical gures ofvarious shapes and each gure having as one of its sides the edge of thesheet, the central portion of said surfaces having representations ofsolid geometric figures having substantially polygonal bases andirregular conical characteristcs, there being interspersed between theborder representations and the central portion solid geometric figuresin some instances having shapes different from the otherrepresentations.

LOUIS JOHN EPPINGER.

References cited in the fue of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 341,954 ,Skinner May 18, 1886 468,361 Pflueger Feb. 9, 18921,300,149 Evans `Apr. 8, 1919 1,422,457 McClanahan July 11, 19221,463,858 Wandve Aug. 7, 1923 1,922,548 Mattin Aug. 15, 1933 2,028,948Pohlmann Jan. 28, 193B 2,241,941 Bates May 13, 1941 2,313,456 StareckMar. 9, 1943

